The 2026 NRL season has concluded with the Sydney Roosters claiming their 16th premiership title after a dramatic comeback victory in the Grand Final.
Last Grand Final
2026 season
Accor Stadium · Sydney · 2026-10-04
🏆 Sydney Roosters def. Newcastle Knights · 19-18
Clive Churchill Medal: Not specified
The Sydney Roosters overcame a 12-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Newcastle Knights in a thrilling finish.
Next Grand Final
Sydney · 2027-10-03
Accor Stadium
The 2027 NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final is scheduled to take place in October 2027.
2026 season
The 2026 season has officially concluded, with the player market now active as clubs prepare for the upcoming period.
2026 NRL ladder
| # | Club | P | W-L-D | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 18-6-0 | +336 | 42 |
| 2 | Warriors | 24 | 18-6-0 | +310 | 42 |
| 3 | Dolphins | 24 | 17-7-0 | +156 | 40 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16-8-0 | +118 | 38 |
| 5 | Cronulla Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 14-10-0 | +149 | 34 |
| 6 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 14-10-0 | +113 | 34 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14-10-0 | +42 | 34 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 13-11-0 | -84 | 32 |
| 9 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11-13-0 | +99 | 28 |
| 10 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 11-13-0 | +18 | 28 |
| 11 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 11-13-0 | -45 | 28 |
| 12 | Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 11-13-0 | -60 | 28 |
| 13 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 9-15-0 | -181 | 24 |
| 14 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 8-16-0 | -206 | 22 |
| 15 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 8-16-0 | -254 | 22 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 6-18-0 | -186 | 18 |
| 17 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 5-19-0 | -325 | 16 |
Recent Grand Finals, 2014 – 2025
| Season | Premier | Runner-up | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 🏆Brisbane Broncos | Melbourne Storm | 26–22 | Accor Stadium, Sydney |
| 2024 | 🏆Penrith Panthers | Melbourne Storm | 14–6 | Accor Stadium, Sydney |
| 2023 | 🏆Penrith Panthers | Brisbane Broncos | 26–24 | Accor Stadium, Sydney |
| 2022 | 🏆Penrith Panthers | Parramatta Eels | 28–12 | Accor Stadium, Sydney |
| 2021 | 🏆Penrith Panthers | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 14–12 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 2020 | 🏆Melbourne Storm | Penrith Panthers | 26–20 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
| 2019 | 🏆Sydney Roosters | Canberra Raiders | 14–8 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
| 2018 | 🏆Sydney Roosters | Melbourne Storm | 21–6 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
| 2017 | 🏆Melbourne Storm | North Queensland Cowboys | 34–6 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
| 2016 | 🏆Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Melbourne Storm | 26–18 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
| 2015 | 🏆North Queensland Cowboys | Brisbane Broncos | 17–16 (golden point) | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
| 2014 | 🏆South Sydney Rabbitohs | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 32–6 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney |
How it's played
Rugby league is two teams of 13 carrying the ball forward, with possession handed over after six tackles. Grounding the ball in the in-goal area is a try worth 4 points, converted for 2 more, while penalty goals score 2 and field goals 1. After two 40-minute halves the higher score wins.
A brief history of the NRL
Players break away from rugby union to form the New South Wales Rugby League, and eight Sydney clubs contest the first premiership — South Sydney wins the inaugural title.
The Sydney club competition becomes the heart of winter in New South Wales and Queensland, headlined by St George's record 11 consecutive premierships from 1956 to 1966 — an unmatched streak in Australian sport.
Canberra, Illawarra, Brisbane, Newcastle, North Queensland, Auckland and the Gold Coast join the competition, turning a Sydney league into a national — and trans-Tasman — one.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation signs the game's stars for a rebel Super League, splitting the competition in two: rival ARL and Super League premierships are awarded in 1997.
The warring camps merge into a single National Rugby League. Brisbane wins the first NRL premiership and the newly admitted Melbourne Storm reach a grand final within two years.
Drawn matches are abolished — extra-time golden point decides tied games, producing some of the most dramatic finishes in the sport's history.
Melbourne is found to have breached the salary cap over five seasons and is stripped of its 2007 and 2009 premierships — the only titles ever removed from the record books.
North Queensland wins its first title in the first golden-point Grand Final, and Cronulla ends a 50-year premiership wait the following season.
Penrith wins four consecutive premierships from 2021 to 2024 — the first four-peat in the NRL era — while the NRLW women's competition grows and Brisbane lifts its fourth crown in 2025.
NRL + NRLW Top 100s + 52-card playing deck — open the collector's box set on its own Legends page: the card deck, the Top 100 and every box-set game.
Current Top 100 + 52-card playing deck — open the collector's box set on its own Legends page: the card deck, the Top 100 and every box-set game.
Dally M Medal winners
The player of the year as voted by the rugby league media, awarded every season since 1979. Johnathan Thurston holds the record with four medals.
Men, 1979 – 2025
| Year | Winner | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 🥇James Tedesco | Fullback | Sydney Roosters |
| 2024 | 🥇Jahrome Hughes | Halfback | Melbourne Storm |
| 2023 | 🥇Kalyn Ponga | Fullback | Newcastle Knights |
| 2022 | 🥇Nicho Hynes | Five-eighth | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| 2021 | 🥇Tom Trbojevic | Fullback | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
| 2020 | 🥇Jack Wighton | Five-eighth | Canberra Raiders |
| 2019 | 🥇James Tedesco | Fullback | Sydney Roosters |
| 2018 | 🥇Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Fullback | New Zealand Warriors |
| 2017 | 🥇Cameron Smith | Hooker | Melbourne Storm |
| 2016 | 🥇Cooper Cronk | Halfback | Melbourne Storm |
| 2016 | 🥇Jason Taumalolo | Second-row | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 2015 | 🥇Johnathan Thurston | Halfback | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 2014 | 🥇Jarryd Hayne | Fullback | Parramatta Eels |
| 2014 | 🥇Johnathan Thurston | Five-eighth | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 2013 | 🥇Cooper Cronk | Halfback | Melbourne Storm |
| 2012 | 🥇Ben Barba | Fullback | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| 2011 | 🥇Billy Slater | Fullback | Melbourne Storm |
| 2010 | 🥇Todd Carney | Five-eighth | Sydney Roosters |
| 2009 | 🥇Jarryd Hayne | Fullback | Parramatta Eels |
| 2008 | 🥇Matt Orford | Halfback | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
| 2007 | 🥇Johnathan Thurston | Halfback | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 2006 | 🥇Cameron Smith | Hooker | Melbourne Storm |
| 2005 | 🥇Johnathan Thurston | Halfback | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 2004 | 🥇Danny Buderus | Hooker | Newcastle Knights |
| 2003 | Not awarded | — | Not awarded — industrial action |
| 2002 | 🥇Andrew Johns | Halfback | Newcastle Knights |
| 2001 | 🥇Preston Campbell | Halfback / Fullback | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| 2000 | 🥇Trent Barrett | Five-eighth | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| 1999 | 🥇Andrew Johns | Halfback | Newcastle Knights |
| 1998 | 🥇Andrew Johns | Halfback | Newcastle Knights |
| 1997 | Not awarded | — | Not awarded — split ARL / Super League competition |
| 1996 | 🥇Allan Langer | Halfback | Brisbane Broncos |
| 1995 | 🥇Laurie Daley | Five-eighth | Canberra Raiders |
| 1994 | 🥇Cliff Lyons | Five-eighth | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
| 1993 | 🥇Ricky Stuart | Halfback | Canberra Raiders |
| 1992 | 🥇Gary Freeman | Halfback | Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
| 1991 | 🥇Michael Potter | Fullback | St George Dragons |
| 1990 | 🥇Cliff Lyons | Five-eighth | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
| 1989 | 🥇Gavin Miller | Second-row | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| 1988 | 🥇Gavin Miller | Second-row | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| 1987 | 🥇Peter Sterling | Halfback | Parramatta Eels |
| 1986 | 🥇Peter Sterling | Halfback | Parramatta Eels |
| 1985 | 🥇Greg Alexander | Halfback | Penrith Panthers |
| 1984 | 🥇Michael Potter | Fullback | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| 1983 | 🥇Terry Lamb | Five-eighth | Western Suburbs Magpies |
| 1982 | 🥇Ray Price | Lock | Parramatta Eels |
| 1981 | 🥇Steve Rogers | Lock | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| 1980 | 🥇Robert Laurie | Five-eighth | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| 1979 | 🥇Steve Morris | Halfback | St George Dragons |
Women, 2015 – 2025
| Year | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 🥇Tamika Upton | Brisbane Broncos |
| 2024 | 🥇Olivia Kernick | Sydney Roosters Women |
| 2023 | 🥇Tamika Upton | Newcastle Knights Women |
| 2022 | 🥇Raecene McGregor | Sydney Roosters Women |
| 2021 | 🥇Millie Boyle | Brisbane Broncos |
| 2021 | 🥇Emma Tonegato | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| 2020 | 🥇Ali Brigginshaw | Brisbane Broncos |
| 2019 | 🥇Jessica Sergis | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| 2018 | 🥇Brittany Breayley | Brisbane Broncos |
| 2017 | 🥇Simaima Taufa | Jillaroos |
| 2016 | 🥇Kezie Apps | Jillaroos |
| 2015 | 🥇Jenni-Sue Hoepper | Jillaroos |
All-time premierships, 1908 – 2025
1908 · 1909 · 1914 · 1918 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1931 · 1932 · 1950 · 1951 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1967 · 1968 · 1970 · 1971 · 2014
The most premierships in Australian rugby league.
1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1923 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1940 · 1945 · 1974 · 1975 · 2002 · 2013 · 2018 · 2019
Won as Eastern Suburbs before the club's rebranding.
1941 · 1949 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1977 · 1979
Includes a record 11 straight titles from 1956 to 1966.
1915 · 1916 · 1917 · 1919 · 1920 · 1924 · 1939 · 1944 · 1946 · 1947 · 1969
Merged with Western Suburbs to form Wests Tigers in 2000.
1992 · 1993 · 1997 · 1998 · 2000 · 2006 · 2025
Includes the 1997 Super League title; won the first NRL premiership in 1998.
1938 · 1942 · 1980 · 1984 · 1985 · 1988 · 1995 · 2004
1972 · 1973 · 1976 · 1978 · 1987 · 1996 · 2008 · 2011
1991 · 2003 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024
Four consecutive titles 2021–2024 — the first four-peat in the NRL era.
1999 · 2012 · 2017 · 2020
The 2007 and 2009 premierships were stripped in the 2010 salary-cap scandal.
1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1986
1930 · 1934 · 1948 · 1952
Merged with Balmain to form Wests Tigers in 2000.
1989 · 1990 · 1994
1910 · 1933 · 1943
Left the top-grade competition after the 1983 season.
1997 · 2001
Won the 1997 ARL premiership during the Super League split.
1921 · 1922
Exited the top-grade competition after the 1999 season.
2016
The club's first premiership in its 50-year history.
2015
Won the first Grand Final decided by golden point.
2010
Joint venture formed in 1999 from St George (15 titles) and Illawarra.
2005
Joint venture of Balmain (11 titles) and Western Suburbs (4).